Well, Google has done it again. They tweaked the flux capacitor and made local search results even more goe-targeted than it already is. I have found this new emerging trend by implementing postal codes into local search, thus making the results very geo-targeted.

These days, when customers search for a business or service within their local area, usually they query service + geographic area as seen in my example below.

Local search

In this example, I am searching for restaurants in Victoria BC.  The seven local search results at the top are restaurants listed with Google’s local business centre. A free submission that any business with an mailing address can own.  Now that’s awesome, but…

Let’s say though, I am staying at Bear Mountain and want to know what restaurants are located near where I am staying. So, I search for restaurants and then add a Bear Mountain postal code.  Here are the results.

postal code

See how all those local results have changed? Google is showing me all the local search results that are within the postal code area.

As a customer, this is great because I can find the service I am looking for that is very close to where I am. As a business owner, this is a huge opportunity to attract local customers by implementing your postal code within your own website.

How can you take action with these postal code local search results?

Well, if you haven’t already, get your business listed within the Google local business centre.  You are required to have a Google account to be listed.

The other action I suggest you take is have your postal code listed on your own website.  The contact page would be the most suitable place. What will happen is Google will index it and when someone searches for your business category and that postal code, your business will be shown not only within the local results – it will be shown below in the natural search results.  Now you then own more than one spot on that first page.

For you visual folks, I have made a quick video explaining all this in plain language. Enjoy!

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Filed under: Search Engine Marketing

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